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Lion Reviewed By Andy Box

A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.

The Review

A mother’s pride makes Lion king!

An extraordinary story that held my attention from the hauntingly beautiful, drone shot landscapes of Tasmania and India to the gripping and endearing, actual footage of Saroo returning to the village and the mother he last saw as a five year old.

Often an audience reaction can tell you everything you need to know and the last time I heard so many people cry or saw them wiping tears from their eyes, was when E.T (1982) had just died. I expect the impact that Lion had and will continue to have on others, will be similar.

The production that Director Garth Davis has brought to the silver screen has a little of everything. A true story, a magnificently touching performance by a child actor (Sunny Pawar), some hollywood powerhouses (Kidman, Patel) a little splash of romance (Rooney Mara) and of course lots and lots of drama.

Saroo’s journey is filled with both physical and emotional barriers that he has to overcome in the 25 years he is separated from his cultural home. Dev Patel (Old Saroo) depicts a tortured soul of a 5 year old boy in the body of an adult with accuracy and it is his continuous wrestling with regard to his identity and loss that add depth and understanding.

Each of the characters has the ability to carry you with them, so that you too can experience exactly what they do, on each phase, of what we now know was an epic transformation from Indian boy to Ozzy an.

The Verdict

Pack lots of tissues and enjoy a night out with all the family. This fantastic advertisement for the Australian film industry, is an absolutely must see tear jerker of a movie, that reminded me somewhat of Philomena. (2013)

The Trailer

The Info

Releases: 19th January 2017

Rating: TBC

Duration: 120 minutes

Genre: Drama

Starring: Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel

Director: Garth Davis (Debut Feature Film)

The Extras

Dev Patel had to develop a new physique for the part and attended several hours in the gym in order inhabit his part. He also grew a beard and developed an Australian accent. In total, he spent eight months preparing for the role.

Dev Patel considers this script to be the best he's ever read.

Partly filmed in Hobart, Tasmania, a rare location for film sets. With a crew of over 300 people and international funding, this film marks the biggest film production to take place on the Australian island. It's set to be released the same year as The Light Between Oceans (2016), partly filmed in Tasmania as well.

The film was developed by Australian producers Andrew Fraser and Shahen Mekertichian. They stubbornly refused to change the Australian setting of the film to America and hereby received several rejections from American film production companies. By the time of release, the two producers will have spend four years on the film.

The movie was announced April 2013 and filming was originally set to begin in August 2014. However, it was postponed until January 2015. All scenes taking place in India were shot first, and the few scenes set in Australia, featuring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman were shot in April 2015.

Rooney Mara originally aimed to take a short break, when Garth Davis offered her the script and made her change her mind: "I read it and it was small part but I thought the script was just so powerful, moving and beautiful that I was like 'This is really supposed to be my time off but I want to talk to this guy.' And within talking to him for two minutes, I knew I was going to work with him."

Sunny Pawar's film debut. He didn't speak English when filming began and bonded with Nicole Kidman, his on-screen mother, by playing cricket with her - scenes which eventually made it into the film.